The World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir reveals a positive trend in India’s air quality, despite ongoing challenges.

According to the report, India now ranks as the fifth most polluted country globally in 2024, a notable improvement from its third-place ranking in 2023.

The country also recorded a 7 per cent decline in PM2.5 concentrations, which dropped from 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023 to 50.6 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024.

While 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India, including Byrnihat, Delhi, and Faridabad, this decline signals a step in the right direction for addressing air pollution.

Delhi, which remains the most polluted capital city in the world, saw little change in its air quality, with an annual PM2.5 concentration of 91.6 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024, almost identical to 92.7 in 2023.

After playing a pivotal role in India’s 2025 Champions Trophy triumph with his all-round skills, Axar Patel is now likely to be appointed as the new Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The all-rounder had stepped in to be DC’s captain in IPL 2024 when his predecessor Rishabh Pant was not allowed to play in a crucial game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) due to an over-rate offence.

“Yes, Axar Patel is likely to be named as Delhi Capitals skipper for IPL 2025. The franchise had asked for KL Rahul to be the team's captain, but he very much wishes to contribute for the side as a player in the upcoming tournament,” sources told on Tuesday.

Axar has been with DC since 2019, and was retained for a whopping Rs 18 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. In his IPL career of 150 games, Axar has scored 1653 runs at a strike rate of 130.88 while picking 123 wickets with his left-arm spin bowling at an economy rate of 7.28.

A tragic road accident claimed the lives of three students and left 24 others injured when a Volvo bus carrying students from the National Law University (NLU) Jodhpur overturned near Laldas Ji Maharaj Dham in Nagaur, Rajasthan, on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The accident occurred around 5.30 am near Burdi Phante when the bus, en route from Chandigarh to Jodhpur, collided with a trailer. The impact of the collision was so severe that the bus overturned, leading to multiple casualties.

The deceased students have been identified as Harshit, Aarushi, and Aarav, all residents of Jodhpur.

Following the accident, emergency responders and local authorities rushed to the scene, and the injured students were immediately transported to JLN Hospital in Nagaur for medical treatment.

India’s venture capital (VC) ecosystem demonstrated a strong recovery in 2024, with total funding reaching $13.7 billion, reflecting a 43 per cent increase compared to 2023, according to a report by global consultancy Bain & Company released on Tuesday.

Deal activity surged, with 1,270 transactions recorded, marking a 45 per cent rise in deal volumes. This resurgence reinforces India's position as the second-largest market for venture capital and growth funding in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in the context of 2024 funding in the region remaining largely in line with 2023, the report states.

Deal volumes increased across deal sizes and stages, while average deal size remained stable.

Small and medium-ticket deals (& $50 million), which made up around 95 per cent of the deals, increased by ~1.4x, whereas $50 million+ deals nearly doubled, rebounding to pre-pandemic levels as high-quality assets attracted deployments.

Hyundai Motor plans to build its first hydrogen fuel cell systems plant in South Korea for the start of operations in 2028, the company's labour union claimed on Tuesday.

Hyundai Motor currently operates a hydrogen fuel cell systems plant in China. If built, the domestic facility will be the carmaker's second such plant globally.

The company will begin the plant's construction within the year at its mainstay car manufacturing plant in Ulsan, about 305 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the union website, reports news agency.

"To push ahead with the plan, there should be consultations between the company and the union," a company spokesperson said, without elaborating.

If confirmed, Hydrogen fuel cell systems produced at the new plant may be used in the Nexo hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (EV), hydrogen-powered Elec City bus and hydrogen trucks.

Notorious gangster Aman Sahu, accused of over 150 crimes across multiple states, including Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, was killed in a police encounter on Tuesday morning in Chainpur, Palamu district, officials said.

Sahu had been lodged in Raipur jail for the past few months. Jharkhand Police took him on remand for questioning in connection with recent criminal incidents.

While being transported from Raipur to Ranchi on Monday night, his gang allegedly ambushed the police convoy near Andhari Dhoda in the Chainpur police station area, using a bomb. During the attack, the police vehicle lost control.

According to the police, Sahu took advantage of the chaos, snatched a weapon from a police jawan, and attempted to escape while opening fire. In retaliation, the police shot him dead. A police jawan was also injured in the exchange of fire.

Michael Bracewell will captain New Zealand for the first time on home soil in the upcoming five-game T20I series against Pakistan, starting at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on March 16.

Bracewell was a star performer in their runner-up finish at the recent ICC Champions Trophy and is one of seven players from the squad set to join the T20 camp in Christchurch on Friday.

The 34-year-old all-rounder, who has racked up 66 international appearances since debuting for the country in all three formats in 2022, captained the white-ball tour of Pakistan in April last year and said he relished the challenge of leading the side.

“It’s a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country,” he said in a release. “I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we’ve got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice.

The prevalence of chronic conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, asthma, prediabetes, and depression or anxiety, has risen to unprecedented levels -- 30 per cent -- over the past twenty years in the US, according to a study.

The study showed that nearly one-in-three young people or about 25 million young people ages 5 to 25 are estimated to now be living with these conditions that began in childhood. It is significantly affecting and limiting their lives.

“The prevalence of childhood conditions is currently higher than previous estimates suggest,” said lead author Lauren Wisk, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles, US.

“Youth who are subject to socioeconomic vulnerability such as having less education, lower income, are on public insurance, or unemployed are all more likely to live with a chronic condition than youth with socioeconomic advantages,” Wisk added.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) forecast heavy rainfall across multiple districts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.

According to the RMC, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, and Thoothukudi are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall today.

Additionally, districts such as Virudhunagar, Sivaganga, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai, and Ramanathapuram are also likely to experience significant rainfall.

In response to the forecast, district officials have urged residents to remain cautious.

A warning has also been issued for fishermen in Kanyakumari, advising them to avoid venturing into the sea.

Industry and labour ministers on Tuesday called for an exemption of researchers in the semiconductor industry from South Korea's 52-hour workweek system that prevents them from working extended hours even when needed.

The government has been calling for a revision to the system to allow such workers to put in additional hours when necessary, reports news agency.

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo made the call during a meeting with officials from the semiconductor industry, including those from leading chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc.

"The ongoing chip war is a technology war, and a tech war is ultimately a race against time," Ahn said, referring to the fierce global competition in the chip industry.

"The United States, Japan and Taiwan are fostering their semiconductor ecosystems with their national fortunes at stake, while China has almost caught up with our memory chip technology, which is one of our major growth engines," he added.